Our Manongs and Manangs: They're Positively Filipinos

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Last Sunday, August 24, Positively Filipino hosted the second "Building Communities: A Tribute to our Manongs and Manangs" event at the San Francisco Public Library. Here is an excerpt from PF Publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco's welcome address:

For the past 12 years, Positively Filipino has been publishing weekly, to inform the Filipino diasporic community with accurate information, about our culture and heritage, our heroes and sheroes, and issues that affect us not only in our adopted countries, but also in our Motherland.

The name Positively Filipino evokes pride in being a Filipino, wherever we may be. The name Positively Filipino is also a rejection and a reversal of the racism that Filipinos faced in the 1930s where a hotel in Stockton posted a warning sign that read, “Positively No Filipinos Allowed.” It’s been almost 100 years since then, and we have come a long way. Yet, no one doubts that we are still fighting for the recognition of our contributions to this country. 

The ten outstanding individuals we are honoring today are all of immigrant background, who left the Philippines in search of a better life in America. All of them achieved success and recognition in their own right despite the difficulties and prejudices they faced. 

This year has brought so many disruptions to our political system and challenges to our longstanding values of empathy and respect for diversity. Immigration, the very system that brought many of us to these shores, is undergoing radical changes. While all nations have the right to control their borders, the right of individuals to due process, be they native-born or immigrant, is the hallmark of a democratic society.

Unfortunately, the rules-based system we have lived in is being seriously tested by new and arbitrary policies. It doesn’t matter anymore that your grandparents or parents toiled the farms in Hawaii and California. Or if you and your family members have served in the military and died for this country. Or if you risked your life to care for others during the pandemic. With or without legal status, US citizen or not, anyone can be suspected of violating immigration laws and can be detained even “based on physical features,” according to a current border enforcement chief.

Beneath dark political clouds, it becomes even more important to honor our manongs and manangs for their contributions to this country and our community. Let it be known that they have given this country their knowledge and skills to help run farms, businesses, classrooms, hospitals, care homes, services, and government offices. We thank this country for giving them—and us—the opportunity to do so, but gratitude should flow both ways.

Let us, our community, be the first to thank our elders, among them these ten honorees, on whose shoulders we stand, for paving the way for all of us. We must continue to tell our stories as integral parts of this American life.

Our Stories This Week

Honor the Past, Uplift the Present, Inspire the Future by Lorna Lardizabal Dietz

“Community Building: A Tribute to Our Manongs and Manangs 2025” honored the legacies of our Filipino American pioneers.

[Video] Building Communities: A Tribute to Our Manongs and Manangs 2025 by Ken Guanga

Positively Filipino continues to honor Filipino Americans who have given us pride.

Cutting Asparagus in Gonzales, California — Spring 1965 by Alex S. Fabros, Jr. 

Farmworker-Soldier-Historian Alex Fabros, Jr. shares the second part of his Filipino American memoir.

Filipino Language and Its Discontents by Julienne Loreto

It’s Buwan ng Wika (Language Month) but shouldn’t it be Buwan ng mga Wika (Month of Languages) instead?

Have Books, Will Travel by Claire Mercado-Obias

A vacation reading list for those who can’t travel but need an escape.

FilAms Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 70 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Role models and achievers, some of whom you may not even know are Filipino.

{Read It Again]

When Lolo’s Debating Team Vanquished America by Liana Romulo

The Last Night of I-Hotel by Veronica Versoza

[Video of the Week]

Alexandra Eala on Tennis in the Philippines

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Staff

We're With the Campaign Against Hate

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While official stats from California's Department of Justice show a decrease in hate crimes against Asian Americans, AAPI communities know better than to relax their guard. Last month alone, four incidents of assaults -- one of which resulted in the death of the victim -- happened to elderly Asians in San Francisco. See: Has Anti-Asian Hate Crime Really Decreased? By Sunita Sohrabji

How do we stem the rising tide of hate? California's Stop the Hate campaign is a statewide initiative that funds community organizations, including ethnic media, in "providing direct services to victims of hate and their families, and prevention and intervention services to tackle hate in our communities." 

Through the California State Library, the Department of Social Services and the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, Positively Filipino is one of the ethnic media organizations awarded a grant. For the next 12 months, this online magazine will take an active role in providing historical and current information about anti-Asian hate crimes, with particular focus on Filipino Americans.  With grant resources, readers will learn about the importance of reporting crimes, how to report crimes and what services are available to support both victims and their families. We will assist in the documentation of incidents, and disseminate strategies on prevention and de-escalation through a series of free webinars. Our Act Against Hate section in the magazine and social media will be a valuable community resource for everyone who supports the struggle against hate, racism, discrimination and violence against FilAms. 

Have you or someone you know experienced an instance when you felt targeted and afraid? When and where did it happen?  How did it happen?  Do you think you were targeted because you're Asian? Tell us about it by clicking this link: actagainsthate@positivelyfilipino.com. If you feel that you are a victim of a hate crime, report it to https://stopaapihate.org/ 

Together we can stop, prevent, document, and de-escalate ethnic tensions while making sure that we ourselves are free of anger and prejudice.

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Home caregivers or domestic workers -- those who are employed to provide home care to the sick, disabled and others who need them -- are not provided the basic health and safety protections under Cal/OSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Act). Now, California Senate Bill 686 hopes to change the situation, but the bill requires a push by the community to enact it into law. Community activist Susan V. Tagle tells us what's at stake.

The results of the 2022 presidential elections in the Philippines was not as clear-cut as it seemed, according to a group of analysts led by General Eliseo Rio, former head of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Inquirer columnist Randy David summarizes the questions brought forth by the inquiry.

PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela deep dives into a discussion of the mental health issues confronting Filipino Americans with author/activist Jen Soriano who just came out with a book called Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing. 

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Staff

The King and the Manila Boy

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The first time I watched the movie musical "The King and I" as a little girl, I was mesmerized by the music and the strange costumes. That movie has since become one of my all-time favorites to re-watch on DVD and YouTube, and not just because of the unforgettable presence of Yul Brynner. "The King and I" remains one of most joyful musicals ever produced. For those who were equally entranced by the movie, did you know that the pre-teen kid who played the Crown Prince Chulalongkorn was Filipino? At that time, in the 1950s, Filipinos in a Hollywood movie were practically unheard of so Patrick Adiarte's feat was one that should be recorded and hailed in Fil-Am history, which is what PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia has done in "The Manila Boy Who Would Be King."

Quite a number of Fil-Ams (born and/or raised in the US) have decided to move to the Philippines and establish themselves there. One of them is Richard Cavosora who returned to Laguna to care for his mother and has since evolved into a maker of cheese. Read his story, "The Accidental Cheese Monger."

Following his very successful (and award-winning) stint with the acclaimed Washington D.C. restaurant, Bad Saint, Chef Tom Cunanan partnered with his former sous chef Paolo Dungca to set up, in the middle of the pandemic, PogiBoy, a sandwich fast food restaurant also in the DC area. PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela writes about this newbie joint which has already been hailed by the Washington Post. 

Earlier this month was the 44th anniversary of the demise of the International Hotel (I-Hotel) in San Francisco, one of the tragic events that in Fil-Am history that should not be forgotten. Read Again about what happened that night of August 4, 1977: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-last-night-of-i-hotel?rq=i-hotel

And here's another of my road trip stories: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/gemma/bison-and-brooklyn

For the Happy Home Cook, a repost of another delectable dessert from Voltaire Gungab: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-double-decker-chocolate-and-coconut-pudding

We have a thought-provoking Video of the Week, an interview by Toni Gonzaga of Jake Zyrus, who used to be the celebrated singer Charice Pempengco. 

In The Know

Asian in the U.S. are the fastest growing racial group. What's behind the rise.
https://news.yahoo.com/asian-u-fastest-growing-racial-213021710.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

Hernández: Reality hit Manny Pacquiao after bruising loss, and he handled it with dignity
https://news.yahoo.com/hern-ndez-reality-hit-manny-123546530.html

Son, father remember rebel-poet: ‘We respect each other’s choices’
https://www.rappler.com/nation/kerima-tariman-son-father-remember-rebel-poet-respect-each-other-choices?fbclid=IwAR1qMzNRdUN4jjEJsCTQqeiWrxq6_2Fm22z_1tM43fzUF42bjdu2U5LtCyw

Family issues, racism compounded stress on Filipino-American college students during the pandemic
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/filipino-american-college-students-mental-health-suffered-during-covid.html

WWII veteran captured in Philippines worked in Japanese shipyard
https://news.yahoo.com/wwii-veteran-captured-philippines-worked-153600312.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

Stay out of our kitchen (if you can’t take the heat)
https://philstarlife.com/living/332967-kitchen-heat-cooking?page=2

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino